Sean OFarrell

Age: 38
Occupation: Team Leader
Number of Cruises: 9
Cruise Line: Carnival
Name of Ship: Carnival Pride
Sailing Date: March 29th, 2003
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

2 adults, 3 children (11, 7, 5)
9th Cruise (1st on Carnival)
Deck 4 (Main) - 2 cabins (Cat 11 and 9I, adjoining)

Overall grade: C. The Carnival Pride is a beautiful new ship, but is hindered by so-so service. The staff was reasonably efficient, but not extremely friendly. They rarely smiled. The ports ranged from good (Cozumel, Progreso) to below average (Costa Maya) to awful (Belize). There were not enough onboard activities during port days or most evenings. The ship is visually very pleasing, the food was good, and the cabins are top notch. Embarkation and Debarkation are efficient. Carnival’s automatic daily Sail and Sign tipping system makes tipping easy, but hinders better service. The cruise was good, but not great (it could have been great). It’s too bad the people on the ship don’t live up to the “grandness” that the ship projects.

Embarkation:
We Arrived in Port Canaveral at 11:30am, and followed the signage to the baggage drop off point. Things were a little disorganized, but we were able to get the bags security checked by the carnival rep and dropped off. Parking was close in and easy (albeit expensive). We breezed though the terminal security checkpoint and into the main check-in hall. Due to being booked in a Category 11, we were directed to the “Skipper’s Club” and were checked in at a nice private office adjacent to the main check in area. No problems at check in, we received our keys and made out way to the boarding area. The main check-in area was busy, but the lines looked like they were moving well. Pictures were taken and we were on the ship in about 15 min. Embarkation Grade: A

Boarding/Cabin
We boarded the ship and were a little surprised at the lack of welcome on the ship. We usually had to beat off reps wanting to show us where to go (we don’t mind getting lost on the first day). We walked into the Renaissance lobby, and decided to buy our coke cards, and shore excursions due to the lack of lines. We opted for “Dolphin Discovery” in Cozumel as our excursion. None of the other shore excursions looked appealing. The shore excursion director suggested buying a trip in Belize, due to the fact that “there’s nothing to do in Belize”. We told him we’d think about it.

We made our way to the cabin without difficulty, and were blown away by the art and the decor of the ship. The reviews of the ship are accurate; there is literally art everywhere. Our cabins (4237/4239) are connecting at the back of the ship. 4237 is the suite, and it was wonderful. Separate living area from the bedroom, nice closet and dressing area, whirlpool tub/shower, and a wraparound deck that is in a word: gigantic. 4239 is the smaller room next door, we asked the steward to unlock the door that connected the room, which was accomplished in a second. The smaller room was perfect for the three kids. There was a minibar in both rooms, a safe, and 2 robes. TV choices were weak, with only 4 real channels. There was no CNN, so we didn’t get to follow the war (unless we happened to catch the nightly news) so that was a mixed blessing. There was no kid’s channel, which made it a bit tough to keep the kids happy while we were dressing for dinner. They had a ton of pay per view movies, but the free movie choices were awful in quality and were rotated too often (the same 6 bad movies were repeated on multiple days). Décor/Cabin: A. (TV Grade: F)

Day 1 – Port Canaveral – Sail Away
We went up to deck nine (Lido) to check out the Mermaid Grill. We were very happy with the food choices and the décor. There are 6-8 different food stations ranging from a hamburger/hot dog grill, to pizza, to a deli, to salads, to Asian and “Americana” choices. Something for everyone. Kids did pizza; my wife and I chose Asian. Excellent. We managed the lifeboat drill, and watched the sailing from our huge deck on 4237.

We had early seating dinner, and made out way to the Normandie restaurant at 5:45pm. The restaurant spans two decks (we were on “upper”) at a table for six (with one open slot). It was big and loud. We hit our first disappointment of the trip, as our waiter really did not strike us being very friendly. Perhaps it was cultural, but we were used to really having our wait staff “fawn “ over the kids and us. He and the assistant waiter were reasonably efficient, just not overly friendly. Examples: every night the section next door (different waiter/assistant) received their food first, by a significant margin. We were always a course behind. Every night we had to order milk for the kids. On Royal Caribbean, they had it figured out after the first night. Ordering a second entrée (if you couldn’t choose) elicited a grunt from the waiter. We brought our own wine on board, and almost every night, (despite the bottle prominently sitting on the table) we had to ask for it to be opened. We saw the headwaiter twice during the entire cruise. After some discussion, my wife and I attributed it to the fact that the tips are added in automatically. We ended up thinking that the staff must feel that the service really has to be bad for you to go to the Purser’s Desk to get the tip removed. Since the tip was automatic, there weren’t many reasons to “push” or try harder. The food was good, and was hot when served. The “light” and vegetarian choices were weak. Kids choices were good. Desert was good.

We checked out the casino after dinner. And were pleased with the casino itself. The game selection was great; the casino staff friendly, and there was plenty of cocktail wait staff. We even won a little bit! Day 1 Grade: B (Normandie C+, Casino A+)

Day 2: Key West – Fun Day at Sea
Overnight, we were surprised at how much we felt the ship move. We first thought it was our location (in the back of the ship), but we started to notice it everywhere. The seas were calm enough, but in our cabin we could feel the boat move a lot, and 4-5 floors above the engine, we couldn’t help but comment on the vibration. Be prepared for a lot of movement on the ship and a lot of vibration if you book the tail of the ship. We were due to dock in Key West at 10am, but the Captain came on the PA and notified us that due to an approaching storm (cold front with 40 mph winds) Key West harbor had decided to close itself to cruise ships. He said that they were going to review the itinerary, and he would update us as soon as they figured out what they could do. It clouded up around 1pm, and began to rain shortly after. The next 12 hours bought the strongest weather we’ve ever seen on a cruise ship. Huge waves, high winds and a lot of seasickness. Can’t blame Carnival for the weather, but we didn’t make it through dinner. Didn’t do the show, and everyone went to bed early: Day 2 Grade: I

Day 3: Costa Maya, Mexico
The captain was pleased to announce that the Key West day had been made the “fun day at sea” and they were adding Costa Maya Mexico, as new stop. Cost Maya looked to be quite a bit south of Cancun. It had a nice new pier, a few trinket stands, and a decent beach. Not Key West, but better than another “fun day” at sea. We decided to stay on the boat, hoping that everyone else would get off, which pretty much happened. We were surprised that there we few activities during the afternoons at port. This bore out the entire week. They’d have one thing at around 1pm (usually a trivia contest) and little else until after dinner. We enjoyed the pool and the Mermaid Grill for lunch. Weather was sunny and hot all day. Dinner was with our unfriendly waiter and after dinner there was…nothing. You had the show, the piano bar, or the casino. That was pretty much it. Since we aren’t into Vegas style shows, we did the casino. We were surprised that there was no dancing. The Beauties disco opened at 9:30, but it was “Teen disco” until 11:30pm. Since our kids get up early, we didn’t dance the entire week. Why they didn’t have the “teen disco” in their Butterfly lounge, and the adult dancing in the Beauties disco earlier is still a puzzle to us. Day 3 Grade: C

Day 4: Belize City, Belize
The shore excursion guy was right. Not a whole lot to do in Belize. We tendered in, walked around a bit, and went back to the boat. The people in Belize City were friendly. This port is simply awful. No shopping, no beach, not a lot to do. Carnival would be better off adding Jamaica or Grand Cayman and forgetting about Belize. It was cloudy all day, with showers on and off, but warm. Dinner was same average service as last night. Grumpy waiter, decent (not outstanding food). Evening was livened up with family karaoke in the Butterfly lounge after dinner. Kids did the Camp Carnival club, we did the Casino. Day 4 Grade: D

Day 5: Cozumel, Mexico
I like Cozumel. The Dolphin Discovery shore excursion was great fun and we had an excellent time. You gained admission to a nice park as part of the excursion. Taxis were the transportation to and from the boat (and included in the price). We decided to go downtown afterward (for $6), and the taxi driver unsuccessfully tried to add an extra $5 to the bill. Make sure you count your change! The day was disappointingly cloudy, and warm but without rain. The clouds cleared out at about 5pm, just in time for sailing away. Dinner was same as last night. Grumpy waiter, decent (not outstanding food). At least tonight, we didn’t have to ask for our wine to be opened. Day 5 Grade: B+

Day 6: Progreso, Mexico
Progreso is a port along the lines of Costa Maya. A deep-water port, new to cruise ships. The port is on a causeway about two miles out into the ocean. You have to take a shuttle or taxi to get the town. We got off the boat, and on the way to the shuttle, a local tout talked us into taking a Merida/Dzibilchaltun tour for $90, which got us a taxi and a driver for the day. Merida is a city of 1 million people about an hour from the port, and was very nice. Our driver showed us the city sites, and we stopped for shopping in their market in the center of the town. He translated for us, and took us to some cool, out of the way spots. We stopped at the Mayan ruin of Dzibilchaltun on the way back (separate admission fee of $6 for adults, free for kids), and elected to pay a local guide $15 for a tour. The ruins are spectacular. The entire tour took about 5 hours and was great. Dinner was same. We tried to get the waiter to be less grumpy, to no avail. Lobster and steak for dinner, which was very good. Day 6 Grade: A (C- if you decided to just go to Progreso, which is a small, poor run down town. The beach did not look appealing, and the water was not clear).

Day 7: “Fun Day” at Sea
More fun than Day 1! We spend the day by the pool and they had more activities going on. My dinner choice was prime rib and turkey, both of which we good. Casino again after dinner, the younger kids elected to do the Camp Carnival club, which they enjoyed. Day 7 Grade: B

Debarkation
No different that any other cruise. We were off the boat by 9:30 am. No issues with luggage or customs. Debarkation Grade: B

We left the boat feeling we got our money’s worth, and we had a nice time. But compared with the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas, which had a similar itinerary out of Miami (which we did last year), we left the Carnival Pride feeling that we made a mistake. They ship was nice, but not at the same level Royal Caribbean or Celebrity for itinerary, service or food. We saved perhaps $500-800 by going with Carnival, but at the end of the day, we didn’t feel the savings was worth it. Next time, back to Royal Caribbean or Celebrity for us!

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